


is it really a sin if we both come out even

by BridgetMcKennitt



Series: It's Hard Coded [1]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Bonding, Developing Relationship, Imprinting, M/M, Magic, Mpreg, Post-Season 3A, Pregnant Derek, Second Chances, Secrets
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-02
Updated: 2013-08-02
Packaged: 2017-12-22 05:57:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,588
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/909728
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BridgetMcKennitt/pseuds/BridgetMcKennitt
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He never expected to have a baby with Stiles through a combination of their magic, but Derek could adapt. He loves his daughter. Derek resolves to take care of her on his own and keep her paternity hidden from Stiles, but Stiles can't stop digging for the truth.</p>
            </blockquote>





	is it really a sin if we both come out even

**Author's Note:**

> Title is a lyric from the song _Knights_ by Minus The Bear.

Werewolves weren't humans. They had been, long ago, but they were more animal than humans. They needed humans to remind them of their humanity or else they'd revert to their animalistic sides. It happened within his pack as a child and it changed him, changed Laura and Cora, into not people, but monsters lurking in the shadows. It was something Derek had thought long and hard about since the Alpha pack and it was something he didn't want for his child.

"You're pregnant," Cora said flatly as she stared at him.

Derek gave her a curt nod. "Mom mentioned it once when we were younger. It requires a born male werewolf and a lot of magic in order to happen. She mentioned some other stuff, but those were the main ingredients."

"You're the born werewolf and magic happened. So who is the mother or father?" Cora crossed her arms over her chest.

That was what Derek didn't want to admit, but they had promised to be more honest with each other, so he swallowed and said the name. "Stiles."

Cora raised her eyebrow in surprise. "You had sex with Stiles?"

"No. Remember the last fight with the druids?" He remembered it vividly. He remembered how the air was thick with magic and Stiles grabbed his hand, holding onto him tight. Derek had felt the spark of magic then between them, but ignored it. He couldn't ignore it now.

Cora sighed before dropping her arms. "Okay, so what's the plan? Do you plan on telling Stiles?"

"No." That would be a huge mistake on top of the many mistakes he'd made over the past several years. Stiles wouldn't understand the pregnancy, wouldn't understand how much a child meant to Derek. Stiles was young. It'd be stupid to think he would want or care for a child that also belonged to Derek. It was better to keep Stiles in the dark.

"I think we should do what our instincts have been telling us from the beginning and hide. You're having my niece or nephew. We can start our pack anew somewhere else, away from Beacon Hills. Scott's an Alpha now. He can have this territory." Even as Cora said it, they both knew neither one of them were leaving.

"We can still hide here. If I'm not telling Stiles, that means we need to stay away from the rest of them." Derek found himself touching his stomach, only aware he was doing it when Cora tracked the movement. "We'll be fine."

"If you say so." A smirk crossed Cora's face. "You do realize this means we have to go shopping, right? This place isn't fit for a human, let alone a baby."

"Good thing we're not humans," Derek said, muttering the words, but Cora was right. They had a lot of things to purchase before the baby was born. "Fine, make a list and we'll go shopping tonight."

Cora reached out and touched Derek on the arm. "We're going to be fine. This baby means a brand new start for all of us."

"Brand new start," he said, echoing her words.

Derek only hoped that the words were true. He didn't want his child to suffer from the same pains and horrors he went through growing up. He wouldn't allow it.

*

Ever since the Alpha pack had been dealt with, it had been easy to avoid Stiles, Scott, Isaac, and the rest of their friends. No one wanted to be around Derek unless they needed his strength, except for Cora, and at the moment, Beacon Hills was peaceful. It meant Derek and Cora could decorate the loft with a newborn in mind, though most likely one that was a werewolf, without worry that their secret would be revealed.

Derek sat at his table looking up pregnancy websites for information while Cora folded her clothes she grabbed from the dryer. He was about three months along, and the baby didn't bother him all that much. He hadn't had to deal with morning sickness, except for some brief pain in the morning and the urge to use the bathroom more often, and he wasn't quite showing yet. He barely had a bump. Cora said she could smell the child growing inside him, but since that was part of his new scent, he couldn't tell and had to trust her word on it.

He touched his stomach as he read about nursing techniques. He didn't remember much of when Cora was born or her early years, except for the fact that while werewolves tended to be rough with each other, he and Laura weren't allowed to be rough with Cora just yet. Derek wasn't going to allow his child to deal with roughhousing, not the way werewolves were to each other. His child deserved better.

"You're brooding again," said Cora as she finished folding the clothes and stacked them on top of each other. "That's not good for the baby."

"You don't know that."

Cora rolled her eyes in that exaggerated manner that all Hales did. "What are you thinking about?"

"We were raised like wolves. I want to raise this baby like a human."

At Cora's blank stare, Derek knew she didn't understand. Cora enjoyed being a werewolf, knew nothing else, but she hadn't dealt with all the troubles Derek had faced because of who and what he was. If he raised his child to be more like a human, like Scott tended to act, then maybe his child would have a better chance in life than Derek. It was Derek's hope.

"I'm hungry," said Cora as she got to her feet. "Let's go out and eat. I'm tired of eating delivery food."

"Fine, but I'm picking the place." Derek grabbed his keys and a coat.

"Nope, we're having seafood." Derek hated seafood and Cora knew that.

"My vote counts for two, so we're going to have pizza."

"Oh great, more food that we get delivered to the loft. Also not very healthy if you're thinking about the baby. Can we compromise with that BBQ ribs place by the pizzeria? Still not healthy, but it's something new."

BBQ ribs did sound good. "Okay, let's go there instead."

It didn't take long to get there, though Cora taking over the radio and playing songs that made him want to tear off his ears didn't help. As he got out of the car, he pointed his finger at Cora who simply ignored him as she walked towards the restaurant. If he wanted to raise his child like a human, his sister would have to tone down her werewolf instincts. Derek doubted that'd happen any time soon.

Cora managed to badger the hostess to seat them ahead of everyone else waiting and she led them to a booth near the front windows. Just as Derek sat down, the bell on the front door rang and Cora almost hissed.

"What?" he asked as he stiffened and tried not to turn around to see what had upset her. If it was hunters, they had to run and Derek hoped there was a back door in this place.

"It's Scott and Stiles," she said, whispering the words.

That was worse than hunters. Derek slouched in his seat, not wanting to catch their attention. He refused to let either of them know about his pregnancy.

By the face Cora made, he knew they had been spotted. He heard their footsteps coming closer and he mentally cursed the fact that Scott wanted to be nice. Why couldn't Scott go back to ignoring and hating him?

Scott smiled as he stood by their table, Stiles behind him. "Cora, Derek. Haven't seen you two in awhile. Thought you guys left Beacon Hills."

"I wanted to leave, but Derek decided we should stay." She spoke to Scott, but her glare was directed at Stiles. "You should leave now."

"Sounds great to me. Let's go, Scott. The Hales are grumpy, angry people. No surprise there." Stiles tugged on Scott's arm until Derek could no longer smell either of them within the restaurant.

Cora picked up a menu and began reading it. "That's the father of your child. You better hope your child doesn't inherit anything from him."

"He's human." Derek shrugged as he picked up his own menu. "There are some decent traits within Stiles. There could have been worse people."

"If you say so. Don't forget to order a salad."

Derek made a face as a waitress came to take their orders. He ordered his ribs, but he also ordered a salad to satisfy Cora. 

Cora smirked as she leaned back. "This is going to be an interesting six months. I should go to a farmer's market and stock up on fruits and vegetables for you. After all, I wouldn't want my niece or nephew to lack for anything because your diet is terrible."

Derek rolled his eyes, but didn't argue. Cora was probably right about changing his diet. He needed to change everything about himself for his child and he was okay with that since his current life wasn't doing very well for himself.

His salad arrived first and Cora couldn't stop smirking as Derek ate every last bit of lettuce. Fortunately for Cora, their ribs soon came after and Derek didn't have time to snarl at her. He picked up a piece of ribs and ripped the meat off it with a bite.

Cora just picked up her own piece of ribs and bit into it, ignoring Derek's glare. In that moment, Derek knew his own child would do the same thing to him. He was screwed.

*

Between the two of them, they finished baby proofing the loft and purchased furniture like a crib and a changing table. Derek looked around the loft in satisfaction. His child wouldn't long for anything as long as Derek could help it.

Cora came up behind him. "You should buy more clothes for both yourself and the baby. You're getting a little plumper."

He looked down at his stomach. He was about four months along and there was an obvious pudge to his stomach. It was proof that his child was growing within him.

"Think you should purchase prenatal vitamins? I think you should. Pregnant women take them."

"I can do that." He grabbed a pen and notepad from his side table and wrote down the things Cora wanted him to purchase. "Did you want me to get anything for you?"

"Yeah, I wrote a list. It's on the fridge."

"I should get you a muzzle instead." Derek walked to the fridge and yanked her list off it. They had magnets. When did Cora buy fridge magnets? "I'll be back."

Between their two lists, Derek decided Walmart was the best place to shop to get everything. He parked his car close to the entrance, grabbed a shopping cart, and went inside.

Shopping for baby clothes was the first thing on his list so Derek maneuvered the cart towards the baby department. There were some couples and individual women within the department, and Derek stayed clear of them as he looked at baby clothes.

As he picked up a onesie with duckling print to check its age range, he heard a familiar voice call out his name. He turned around and saw Isaac hanging back. Derek put back the onesie.

"Isaac." Derek shifted on his feet, unsure what to say. He hadn't seen Isaac in awhile since Isaac officially joined Scott's pack. "Hello."

"This is a surprise seeing you here." Isaac looked around and Derek knew he meant in the baby department. "Uh, is Cora pregnant or something?"

"She's not." Derek didn't say anything further. He wasn't sure how well Isaac could detect lies and Derek didn't want it known that he was pregnant.

"Oh." Isaac shoved his hands in his pockets. "Right. Uh, it was good seeing you. I was just crossing through here to get to the grocery side. Scott's waiting for me there."

Derek nodded. He should have realized both Scott and Isaac were in the store. He told Isaac goodbye and watched him go before looking back at the onesie. Isaac would tell Scott about seeing Derek and Scott would tell Stiles. Maybe they wouldn't get curious about why he was shopping in the baby department, but maybe they would. He hoped it was the former.

He picked a bunch of onesies that Cora would think was cute as well as a bunch of diapers. Derek looked at the baby formula aisle before turning away from it. He remembered his mother saying male werewolves who gave birth could nurse, so he'd nurse when the time came for it. Derek did pick up extra bottles and a breast pump machine just in case.

With that done, he rolled his shopping cart towards the men's department. He needed looser clothes for the rest of the pregnancy to disguise his body. Cora had suggested sweaters and sweatpants since neither had to be form fitting, and could conceal his changing body.

Derek didn't bother trying any of them on, just grabbed the largest sizes and tossed them in his shopping cart. There was one thing on his list in this area before he had to go to the grocery side and that was the prenatal vitamins. He quickly walked to that aisle, grabbed the largest bottle, and tossed it in his shopping cart.

Now that he knew Isaac and Scott were in the store with him, Derek widened his senses so he could stay away from them. Cora wanted a lot of red meat and junk food while the bottom half of her list was meant for Derek. She wrote 'Derek's Foo Foo Food,' underlined it, and listed a bunch of vegetables, fruits, and lean meats with notes of how good they were for pregnant women. He rolled his eyes, but his sister meant well.

Just as he rolled his cart towards the cashiers in the front of the store, he spotted Scott and Isaac. They spotted him in return and he saw Scott's eyes widen at the items in Derek's shopping cart. Derek scowled at them and pushed his cart forward in his line.

Then Scott came closer. "Is Cora pregnant?" he asked as he eyed the baby items.

"No, she's not."

"Did you get you some woman pregnant?"

Derek's scowl deepened. "No." He wanted to abandon his cart to get away from Scott's questions, but Cora would only make him come back if he went back to the loft empty handed. Derek tightened his fists on the handle of the cart. "Go away, Scott. It's none of your business."

There was a tightening in Scott's jaw, like he wanted to argue. Isaac pulled Scott's arm back.

"Come on, Scott. Let's buy our stuff and get out of here. Derek doesn't want us bothering him."

Derek nodded to Isaac, silently thanking him. Scott allowed himself to be dragged away by Isaac, leaving Derek alone.

When he returned to the loft, Cora was at the front door waiting for him. "It's a good thing you're a werewolf." She eyed the fact that he carried everything from the car with no strain.

Derek walked into the loft and placed the bags down in the kitchen. "Just for that, you're putting everything away."

"That's fine." Cora opened the fridge and began putting away the food. "You smell funny. What's wrong?"

Derek sat down on one of the bar stools Cora ordered online. "I saw Scott and Isaac at the store. They saw the baby items and thought you were pregnant."

Cora made a face. "I assume you told them I wasn't. Though at least they didn't find out that you were the pregnant one instead. There's that."

Derek nodded. "If they don't know, then they won't be able to tell Stiles."

"They might still tell him about the oddity of you shopping for baby clothes."

"In that case, you _are_ pregnant." Derek smirked as he leaned on his elbows. "Now make us dinner since you're so concerned about my diet. The baby wants food."

"You're lucky I'm a good aunt." Cora turned around and began pulling out pots and ingredients.

He was lucky that Cora decided to stay and help him raise his child. She still refused to say where she'd been and what she'd been doing during the six years she'd been assumed dead, and she could have left just as easily. It was her decision to stay with him.

It wasn't long before Cora had dinner prepared and she slid a plate towards him before sitting down with her own plate.

*

As the pregnancy progressed, Derek felt nauseous on a daily basis, requiring him to make frequent trips to the bathroom. It was as if his child was making up for the lack of morning sickness in the beginning of the pregnancy. It had gotten so bad that Cora went out and bought a 'Home Sweet Home' sign to hang above the toilet.

Derek glared up at the sign as he hugged the toilet bowl. "That's not funny," he said, rasping out the words.

Cora leaned her shoulder against the door frame. "It really is. Do you want me to get you some ginger ale?"

"Please."

Cora left and returned with a glass filled with ginger ale, and offered it to him. Derek took the glass with a thanks and sipped it. The drink helped settled his stomach a bit and he rested his hand over his protruding stomach. He was eight months pregnant and his child was strong. Soon he'd give birth and see his child in person.

"You still haven't named my niece or nephew."

"Feel free to suggest some names."

"It's too bad mom's emissary chose Scott over you. We could have used his ultrasound machine to find out the gender. Then again, we could break into his vet office or the hospital and use it ourselves."

Derek shook his head. He wasn't going to go near either of those places. Scott worked at the vet's office and his mother worked at the hospital. It was too much of a risk. "I just want a healthy child. So are you going to suggest some names or am I going to have to find another sister to help me?"

Cora snorted. "I'll help. Stop nagging. I suppose anything with a junior is out, right?"

"Right. I don't want to name my child after anyone in the family. It's too much."

At the softening in Cora's eyes, Derek knew she understood. It was too much of a risk to name his child after a family member who died screaming in pain.

"Okay. There's always David for a boy and Sonya for a girl."

They were nice sounding names. "I'll think about it." Derek felt his stomach roll and he positioned himself over the toilet to throw up again.

"And that's my cue to find something else to do." Cora closed the bathroom door behind her.

Derek hugged the bowl and rested his head on the seat. He only had a month more to deal with his morning sickness.

"You're worth it, kid. Just come out healthy and less fucked up than I am, and I'll be happy." He felt his child kick in response and Derek laughed. "That's right. So we have a deal?" Another kick.

*

They argued over where Derek would give birth. Cora wanted Derek to stay put in the loft, but Derek wanted to give birth in the woods.

"And if the others find you, or find the presence of the birth?"

"They won't." Derek picked up the duffel bag he packed the other day. "I'm not going to give birth here." He paused, trying to figure out how to phrase what he wanted to say. "The smell of blood takes awhile to fade."

Cora winced and she took the bag from Derek's grasp. "I'll start the car."

It didn't take long to drive to the woods and Cora made sure to park the car somewhere hidden. "So where exactly did you want to do this?"

The baby kicked harder and Derek winced. "I'm sure we'll find out when the child lets me know."

They trekked through the woods, far from their old home, as they searched for a place good enough for Derek to give birth.

Cora stopped him as she looked around. "Do you remember this place?" There was a stream not far away and a large tree with roots sticking out from the ground. "Laura used to take us here."

"I remember. We'll stop here." It was as good a place as any.

Cora took out a blanket from the duffel bag and spread it out under the tree. Derek sat down on the blanket before rolling his neck and letting his werewolf face show. Then he started stripping off his clothes. Cora turned around and tossed a robe behind her back.

"This is going to be gross, isn't it? The baby's going to claw out of your stomach like it's the movie _Alien_."

Derek rolled his eyes though it was wasted when Cora wasn't looking at him. "It'll be messy, yes. You can wait somewhere else until I'm done."

"I might do that. I'll be by the stream. Howl if you need me."

Derek made himself comfortable by lying on his back and waited.

The actual birthing process was filled with pain and blood. He didn't remember the details, except for Cora screaming his name and how he dug his claws into his stomach to help his child, but it was worth it when Cora helped cut the umbilical cord and swathed his child in a blanket.

He closed his eyes and tried to catch his breath as his body slowly healed. "Well?" he asked.

"Congratulations, Derek. You're the proud father of a baby girl."

He opened his eyes to see Cora cradling his daughter against her chest. "Can I see her?"

Cora knelt down and helped Derek carry his daughter. "She's beautiful. What are you going to name her?"

"Sonya's a good name." Derek felt the bond between them form until it was unbreakable. This was probably what his mother felt after she gave birth to him and his siblings. He looked down at her and raised her high enough to kiss her forehead. "Sonya Hale."

"Rest up while I bury this. When you're feeling better, we'll head back to the loft."

Sonya began to whimper and Derek parted the top part of his robe to try and feed her. It took her a couple of tries to latch on, but Sonya did and her suckling calmed Derek. Cora came back and sat on a clean portion of the blanket to watch them.

"You ready for this?" she asked. "Having a daughter and raising her?"

"No," Derek said, honestly. "But she's here and I have to do right by her." He winced when he shifted and Cora reached towards him, placing her hand on his shoulder. Immediately, his pain was leeched away. "Thanks."

"No problem. Just remember that all night feedings and diaper changes are on you. Deal?"

Derek let out a chuckle. "Deal."

*

"Don't be mad at me."

Derek looked up from changing Sonya's diaper on the changing table and raised his eyebrow. "What are you talking about?"

Cora stepped forward as she opened her hands, showing she was harmless. "I wanted Sonya to be legal, okay? So I broke into some buildings and forged her birth certificate. We should be getting the official one in the mail any time soon."

"Again, I'm not seeing why I would be mad at you." He finished changing Sonya's diaper and got her into her onesie with shooting stars. Derek lifted her up into his arms and faced Cora.

"Well, Sonya needed parents listed on the birth certificate, so I put you down as the father and..."

"And?"

"I had to make up a name for her mother." She offered Derek a piece of paper she'd been holding and Derek took a look at what was written on it.

Stila Bilinski.

Derek stared at Cora. Now he knew why he'd be mad at her. "Seriously? Out of all the names in the world, you chose Stila Bilinski?"

"What? You and Stiles are Sonya's parents. I mean, technically, _you're_ Sonya's mom and Stiles is the dad, but it's still the both of you. I didn't want to lie that much on her certificate, considering I couldn't actually put Stiles' name."

"I thought you hated Stiles?"

She shrugged. "I don't really care for him, but I'm not going to deny his part in Sonya's creation. Besides, no one ever pays much attention to birth certificates. Now give me my niece while you go brood about your life choices."

Cora opened her arms and took Sonya from him. She shifted her face into her werewolf form and Sonya laughed. All Sonya could do at her young age was flash her eyes yellow, which she did at Cora. Cora rubbed her nose against Sonya's and started on her baby babble that drove Derek crazy.

He went into the kitchen to grab a drink as well as think about Cora's decision. She wasn't wrong. Sonya did need a birth certificate and the document did need to list Sonya's parents. No one would actually see the birth certificate, or if they did it was government workers, and they wouldn't connect the names to the truth. Yet Derek felt angry at what Cora did and wanted to yell at her. He wouldn't because he wasn't going to do any sort of yelling in front of Sonya, not if he could help it, but Derek wanted to.

"Cora, can you babysit Sonya for me? I'm going to go out and run. There's plenty of bottles in the fridge if she gets hungry."

"Sure." Cora raised the pitch of her voice. "Sonya girl would rather hang out with her cool aunt instead of her brooding daddy anyway. Isn't that right, Sonya?"

Derek rolled his eyes as he went to his room to change his clothes. He wasn't brooding. He came back to the living room where Cora had Sonya in her arms along with a stuffed wolf.

"I'll be back. Try not to warp my daughter too much."

"No promises."

He left the loft and began jogging. There were some nice paths in the woods and while it'd take him awhile to get there on foot, Derek didn't mind. He wanted the time to think.

When he saw Scott and Stiles also jogging in the woods, Derek knew he just made another bad decision. He was about to turn around when Scott spotted him.

"Derek!" Derek stopped as Scott came closer to him. Stiles hung back behind Scott. Just as Scott was within arm's length of him, Scott sniffed the air. Scott stared at him. "You smell like baby powder."

"I don't," Derek said automatically and winced at the blatant lie.

Scott narrowed his eyes and took a step forward. "What are you doing with a baby?"

"Scott, you're not in my pack and you're certainly not my Alpha. I don't have to actually answer you."

"You do if you're up to something." Scott flashed his red eyes and that's when Stiles stepped in, putting his hand on Scott's shoulder.

"Scott, babies do not equal evil. I'm sure Derek has a very good, very ordinary reason why he smells like baby powder and bought baby clothes, and you know what? I bet it's because it's a baby. Not evil."

Derek tried not to look at Stiles. There were some moments when Sonya laughed and he'd see her resemblance to Stiles. Sonya laughed a lot.

"Cora and I are trying to stay out of your way. I don't ask you questions about your family or friends and I expect the same consideration for me. We just want to be left alone."

Stiles gave him a look. "Because that doesn't sound suspicious at all. Uh, not that I'm implying that you and your sister are held up in your loft with an incestuous baby or anything."

Derek rubbed his face with his palm. "No, just no. I worry about your future relationships and children if this is how the two of you act."

Stiles scoffed. "Are you kidding? I'd be the best dad in the entire world. My kids would be amazing little nutters."

He thought about Sonya back at the loft. It was true his daughter was an amazing little nutter. Even at a month old, Derek could tell. Just the thought of his daughter brought a smile to Derek's face that he directed at Stiles. It didn't hit him what he was doing until both Scott and Stiles stared at him with weird expressions.

Derek coughed into his fist and took a step back. "Let's pretend we never saw each other and I'll continue my run." He didn't wait for their responses before he started jogging away.

He was an idiot. There was no way Stiles wouldn't be curious after that exchange. If Stiles found out about their daughter, it'd ruin everything. Derek wanted to let out a howl at his stupidity. He needed to return to the loft and tell Cora.

*

Cora glared at him as she offered Sonya a bottle. "You're an idiot."

"I know." Derek rubbed at his chest. "I'm aware of that. Now what are we going to do?"

"We can leave Beacon Hills behind. I can start packing our things."

Derek shook his head. "I'm tired of running, and Sonya needs stability. No, we stay here. I just have to figure out how to keep them off our trail." As Cora opened her mouth, Derek cut in. "Without violence."

"Fine. If they're so curious about a baby in your life, just say you got a woman knocked up and she didn't want a baby. Or someone abandoned a baby at our doorstep and you didn't want to give her up. Something simplistic that will unravel the mystery they have in their heads so they stop asking questions. We don't have to tell the truth, but we do have to give them something."

Derek looked at his daughter as she sucked on her bottle. He could tell Scott something just enough to get them to leave them alone. Derek looked for his notepad and a pen. "I'll write a letter and leave it in Scott's room. That should be enough." He sat down on the couch to write. "I think I'll go with the woman I got pregnant didn't want a child and gave up her rights. That way Sonya's mine and I won't have to deal with Stiles trying to claim I kidnapped a baby like I would if she had been abandoned at our doorstep."

"Sounds good to me." Cora put down the bottle and shifted Sonya against her shoulder to burp her. "Now let's see if they buy it."

"We can only hope." Derek finished the letter and folded it in half. "I'm going to run this to Scott's house." He sniffed Sonya. "She's going to want to take a nap soon, but she'll fight it."

Cora rubbed Sonya's back. "I'll make sure she naps. Go and protect our pack, Derek."

He stood up and pressed a kiss to both Cora and Sonya's heads. "I will."

Derek ran like there were hunters chasing after him. He didn't know if Scott and Stiles were still out, but he hoped they were. He made it to Scott's house and looked around to see he was alone before hopping to the second floor of his house.

Scott's room was messy and Derek searched for somewhere to put his letter. He finally settled by taping his letter on top of Scott's computer screen. If Scott missed that, then Derek didn't know what to think.

He returned to the loft to find Sonya sleeping in the middle of his bed with pillows against her sides so she wouldn't roll off the bed. Derek kicked off his shoes and climbed into bed with her, curling his body around her. Her mouth was slightly opened as she slept with one of her arms above her head, and Derek couldn't help but think that she was the best thing that had ever happened to him.

He kissed her forehead and gently put an arm over her. If it hadn't been for Stiles, he wouldn't have Sonya. Someday he'd find a way to thank him.

*

The letter must have worked because he didn't see Scott, Stiles, Isaac, or any of their friends when he left the loft to run errands. His daughter was safe and Stiles' life wasn't ruined.

Derek packed a diaper bag for Sonya, deciding to take her out for a trip. She was a werewolf and werewolves felt better when they had access to sky and nature. He buckled the baby sling around his front before bending down to pick up Sonya and slipping her into the sling.

She looked up at him and gurgled.

"We're going out, Sonya." Derek picked up the diaper bag, slung it over his shoulder. "Where would you like to go?" Sonya mouthed at her fist and Derek chuckled. "The park? Sounds like a good idea to me."

Sonya's car seat was already in the car and he strapped her in before getting into the driver's seat and driving off. There were some families already at the park and Derek ignored them for an empty area near the water. He set up a blanket and set Sonya down on it as he sat next to her.

She made a noise and Derek took out her stuffed wolf, shaking it above her head.

This entire situation was beyond him, but that was a good thing. He needed to get beyond himself for Sonya's sake.

"It's true, you have a baby."

Derek's head shot up as he stared at Stiles. He'd been so preoccupied with Sonya that he hadn't heard or scented Stiles, but then again, why would he? He thought after his letter, they'd stay away from him and Cora just like he asked. Of course, it'd be Stiles who ignored that request.

During Derek's silence, Stiles walked to the edge of the blanket to take a closer look at Sonya. There was a yellow headband around her head, highlighting the smattering of black hair she had. "She looks like you. It's amazing."

"I'm her father. That tends to happen with kids and their parents," Derek said wryly and Stiles took that as his cue to sit down on the blanket.

"What's her name?"

He should have packed up their things and ran away with Sonya, but Derek decided to stay and answer whatever questions Stiles asked. It wouldn't hurt to satisfy some of Stiles' curiosity.

"Sonya Hale. She's a little over a month old."

Stiles reached out to touch her before pulling his hand back. "Can I hold her?"

Derek wavered in what to say, but finally nodded. "Do you know how?"

"A little." Derek picked Sonya up and instructed Stiles how to hold her before handing her over. He sat back and watched Stiles hold their daughter. There was a look of joy on Stiles' face as he cooed at Sonya.

"She's so precious. I can't believe she's a part of you." Stiles looked up at Derek. "Why would you want to hide her away from the world?"

"In case you've forgotten, Stiles, the world hasn't been so kind to me and mine. I don't want Sonya to get hurt."

"That's fair." Stiles snuggled with Sonya and kissed her forehead. "I wouldn't want anyone or anything hurting her either. I still can't believe you got someone pregnant though. I mean, okay, I can believe the amount of sex you've been having, but someone thinking you're responsible enough for a baby? That's something else."

Derek stiffened and a flash of hurt went through him. Stiles must have noticed because he immediately backtracked. "Not that I'm saying you're irresponsible or anything, but I wouldn't have imagined you as this carefree dad either. It's really messing up my image of you."

Sonya whimpered and she flashed her yellow eyes at Stiles. He startled at the change.

"She's a werewolf?"

"She is. Here, let me take her. She's hungry." Derek dug into the diaper bag and pulled out a bottle.

"Can I feed her? She's already in my arms."

Derek nodded and helped Stiles shift Sonya in his arms so he could hold the bottle as well. Stiles held the nipple of the bottle close to Sonya's lips and she sucked it in and began to drink.

Stiles and Sonya looked right together. Derek knew it'd be hard to go back to when it was just him, Sonya, and his sister. He sat back on his arms to watch Stiles feed her. If this was going to be a one time thing, he was going to soak in the moment while it lasted.

"Your daughter is adorable and it's unfair she's yours. I kind of want to keep her."

"You could visit her if you want." Derek winced as the words came out of his mouth. He didn't mean to say that. It was from the euphoria of seeing his daughter with her father, that was all. Stiles and Sonya's scents blended together, and he saw just how much she resembled him.

"Really? That's sweet of you. I'd like that." Stiles let out a chuckle. "I don't even know why I care about your kid. Must be magic."

It was possible. Talia had once mentioned offhandedly that cubs had the ability to ensnare their parents in order to prevent abandonment. Derek didn't know if that was true, but it'd certainly explain Stiles. And if that was the case, then Stiles wouldn't stay away if Derek told him to go.

"Must be," Derek said casually. "She's just about done eating. Did you want to burp her or should I do it?"

"I'll do it. Can you hand me her burp cloth? Thank you." Stiles dropped the bottle on the blanket and shifted Sonya to burp her. Sonya let out a loud burp and Stiles laughed. "Yeah, I'm definitely keeping her."

"This is the first time she's left the loft since her birth."

"Yeah, can't keep her locked up forever." Stiles nudged Derek's shoulder. "Since we're out and about, and I have nothing else to do, want to grab some lunch? Sonya here got to eat, but I'm starving."

Derek was a little hungry, and if he said yes, that meant Sonya could bond some more with Stiles. He wasn't going to deny his daughter that time.

"Okay."

"Good! I'm in the mood for some burgers. What do you think?"

"I could go for some burgers. The last several months, Cora's been forcing me to eat healthy meals with tons of vegetables and fruits."

"That's weird. Why would your sister care what you eat?"

Derek shrugged, not sure how to explain the diet was mainly for Sonya's benefit, even now since he nursed. "She cares."

"I guess. Want to hang around here some more or should we go eat?"

"We can eat. Just let me pack everything up." It didn't take long and Derek took Sonya from Stiles, putting her in the baby sling.

Stiles stared at him like he was some kind of oddity.

"What?" Derek couldn't help but snap at Stiles.

"Nothing. It's just this is a sight I can't believe I'm seeing. Can I take out my phone and take a picture? For proof?"

"No. Are you coming or am I leaving you behind?"

"I'm coming." Stiles scrambled after Derek as he walked to his car.

He unlocked the car doors before buckling Sonya into her car seat. She looked up at him and spit up which Derek cleaned up with her burp cloth. Stiles turned around in his seat to watch them.

Derek got into the driver's seat and just as he started the ignition, Stiles spoke. "You're a really good dad. Is it bad if I'm surprised about it?"

"People can change, you know. When I was faced with Sonya, I knew I had to change for her. She's my daughter. There was nothing else I could do."

Stiles frowned. "You could have abandoned her like her mother did, which is a dick move if you ask me. Who even does that?"

Derek glanced at Stiles. "She had her reasons and I don't blame her at all. She wasn't ready for Sonya and she'd never be ready for her. I'm not going to force her on us when we don't fit into her life."

"You sound too nice. If I knew I had a kid out there, I'd demand to be a part of their lives because that's what family is all about."

That was too close for comfort and Derek squirmed in his seat. "Like I said, I don't blame her for her choice. I want her to be happy and she's happier without us."

Stiles went silent for a few moments. Derek thought their conversation was done until he heard, "It sounds like you loved her."

Derek didn't love Stiles, though he was fond of him because of his part in creating Sonya. "Not love, but I'm fond of her. She gave me a gift I can never repay her for, and I'm thankful for what she did. I'll protect her with all that I am."

"It sounds like you love her." Stiles fiddled with the radio and dropped the subject.

The diner Stiles wanted to go to was in downtown Beacon Hills. The trip there was quiet except for Sonya's heavy breathing and the songs on the radio. As Derek parked the car, Stiles jumped out and opened the side door.

"Stiles, what are you doing?"

"Where's that sling of yours? I'm going to carry Sonya. By the way, you look both ridiculous and adorable wearing it. I'm surprised."

Derek rolled his eyes. "Thanks, I guess? She could just sit in her car seat. It comes out."

"Nah. So where is it?"

"It's right here. I'll help you put it on."

Stiles stood still as Derek snapped the buckles on, then took Sonya out of her car seat before helping her into the sling. He grabbed the diaper bag before shutting the door.

"Now who looks ridiculous?" He placed his keys in his pocket.

"Still you." Stiles stroked Sonya's head. "Come on, Sonya, your daddy's going to buy us food."

"I didn't say that."

Stiles looked back as he put his hand on the door handle. "It's two to one, Derek, so don't even argue."

Derek followed after Stiles as he got a booth in the back corner. He stood by the table and raised his eyebrow at Stiles.

"Stiles, let me hold my daughter. I know how to hold her and eat at the same time."

"Oh." Stiles looked down at Sonya. "I guess that makes sense. All right, take her."

Derek squatted to take Sonya from the sling before sitting on his side of the booth. Sonya made a noise of displeasure before settling down, still asleep.

Derek looked up to see Stiles staring at him with his mouth slightly open.

"What?"

"I still can't get over you being a dad. It's pretty much blowing my mind."

Derek grunted. "Shut up and figure out what you're eating."

"Pfft, I've been here with Scott numerous times. I know exactly what I'm getting. Double cheeseburger with a side of curly fries. What are you getting?"

"That sounds good. I guess I'll get the same thing."

A waitress came by to take their orders and when she left, Derek noticed how Stiles couldn't stop staring at Sonya.

"She's not going to run away, Stiles."

"You never know. She is a werewolf cub. Maybe if I'm not always watching her, she'll escape and crawl away." Stiles wiggled and he reached down to grab his phone. "Scott's calling me. I gotta take it." Stiles slid out of the booth and walked outside.

It wasn't hard to focus in on Stiles' conversation through the din of people talking and eating. If he concentrated harder, which he found himself doing, he could hear Scott's part of the conversation.

"Hey, what's up?"

"We were supposed to hang out today. Where are you?"

"Uh. So you know how you told me Derek has a baby and how Derek wished to be left alone? I went ahead and ignored that."

"Stiles! Are you okay? Did he hurt you?"

"I'm fine. Scott, his daughter is adorable. Her name is Sonya and I've spent hours with her already. I can't believe something so wonderful came from something so grumpy. You should meet her."

"And have Derek try to rip my face off? No thanks. Are you coming home soon?"

"I can't. I'm having lunch with them right now. Sonya's sleeping in Derek's arms and it is the cutest thing ever. I might have to find a way to take a picture of it without Derek knowing about it."

"Stiles, you sound kind of crazed. Should I be worried?" Scott sounded worried through the call and Derek knew Scott had the right to be worried. Stiles didn't even know that Sonya's presence was putting him under a spell.

"Nah, I'm good. Did you know Derek's a good dad? It's weird."

"Just be careful. There has to be a reason why the Hales have been so secretive and I don't want you to get hurt."

Derek stopped listening to Stiles' conversation at that point. Stiles _was_ going to get hurt. He'd want to spend all his time with Sonya without knowing why, and that was the least of the issues. If Stiles found out Sonya was actually his daughter with Derek, Derek knew things wouldn't end well. Either Stiles would hate him more than he already did or Stiles would try to do the honorable thing and help support Sonya which would ruin his life. Stiles was smart, Derek knew that, and he deserved to go onto college and do better things than stay in Beacon Hills with a baby and a guy he hated.

By the time Stiles returned to the booth, the waitress had delivered their food. Stiles leaned over his plate and inhaled the scent before letting out a giant sigh. "I love food."

"I see that." Derek shifted Sonya in his arms before grabbing his burger. The movement caught Stiles' attention and he looked at Sonya.

"She's still sleeping? I thought babies cried pretty much every second of the day or something."

"Some of them, but Sonya's pretty good. She hardly cries."

"That's cool." As Stiles ate his burger, he spent most of his time watching Sonya sleep. Derek tried to ignore it as he ate his own burger. Stiles finished quickly and wiped his face with a napkin. "Since you're still eating, can I hold her?"

Stiles didn't want for Derek's answer as he slid out of his side of the booth and tried reaching for Sonya.

Derek held onto Sonya a little tighter. "Stiles, stop."

"Please?"

The look on Stiles' face made Derek sigh. "Okay. Just be careful." Derek handed Sonya over to Stiles. Stiles sat back down and cooed at Sonya.

"Aren't you just the prettiest thing ever? Yes you are, Sonya. Yes you are." Sonya opened her eyes and let out a yawn. She blinked up at Stiles. "Hi, pretty girl. I'm Stiles. Can you say Stiles?"

"She's too young to start talking."

"Maybe, but it's never too early to start trying."

Derek finished his food and pushed his plate aside. "Stay right there while I pay our bill."

"What? Oh, hey, thanks for paying."

Derek shrugged. "Sonya agreed with you that I should pay. Why would I tell her no?"

Once Derek paid for their meal, he came back to Sonya already in her sling. Stiles grabbed the diaper bag and slung it over his shoulder. He grinned at Derek.

"It was touch and go for awhile there, but we managed. It's a good thing your baby's a werewolf in case I dropped her."

Derek narrowed his eyes at Stiles as they left the diner. "You are not dropping my daughter."

"Pinkie swear I won't. So where are we going now?"

It was time. Stiles was already too deep under Sonya's spell and Derek needed to cut the cord. "Sonya and I are going back to the loft and you're going home."

Stiles' mouth dropped. "Why? I can go to the loft with you and help babysit. It's not a problem."

"I have Cora for that." Derek sighed. "Stiles, you've only been with Sonya for less than a day and you're growing too attached to my child. It's not healthy. Just go before you get hurt."

"But-"

"You don't find it weird that you're basically turning paternal over my child? Just ignore it and the feeling will fade away in time."

Derek reached forward to unbuckle the sling and take Sonya away from Stiles. Stiles just stared at him as Sonya began to whimper and worked herself into full out crying as Derek placed her in her car seat. "Good bye, Stiles. Thanks for helping me with Sonya."

He backed out of the parking lot with the image of Stiles' heartbroken expression burned into his mind.

*

Cora took one look at him and scowled. "You did something stupid. What is it?"

Derek dropped the diaper bag on the floor and put Sonya in her crib. "I saw Stiles at the park, or he saw me. He fell under Sonya's spell."

"Sonya's cute. So what?"

Derek shook his head. "I don't mean that. I mean he literally fell under her spell. Sonya's a werewolf cub with only one parent. She just met her second parent and Stiles couldn't stay away. He followed me to lunch because he wanted to spend more time with her."

Cora groaned as she fell onto the couch. "I thought that was a myth mom liked to tell! I didn't know it was true."

"I didn't either until I saw Stiles' actions. I told him to stay away and forget about us."

"Which he might not do because he's seen Sonya." She eyed her niece as Sonya hugged her stuffed wolf to her chest. "I know you're going to say no, but maybe we should just tell Stiles about her origins?"

"And have him change his future to include Sonya? No. He deserves to live his own life."

"I'm not going to argue, but Derek, why is it so important that Stiles has a choice? You didn't have a choice when it came to Sonya."

Because Stiles hated him and would only hate him more if they had a magical baby tying them together. "My fuck ups don't have to be his. I want Sonya. The same can't be said about Stiles, not like this."

"I think it's time for you to call Scott. Let him know that we might have an issue with Stiles." Cora gestured with her hand. "Say there's a curse on our end and it's affecting Stiles, and Stiles just has to stay away. Or maybe Sonya's been cursed and can't be around humans. Something that Scott won't question and he'll help keep Stiles away."

It sounded like a good idea. "I'll go with your second suggestion. If I said Stiles was cursed, they'd focus on trying to break it on him, and it'd raise too many questions."

Derek looked for Scott's number in his phone before calling it. It rang a few times until he heard Scott's suspicious, "Hello?"

"Scott, it's Derek. I need your help. It's about Stiles."

"What about him? Is he okay?"

Derek paused, taking a deep breath. "He's fine, but he's a danger to my daughter."

"What? He said he was with her today. He didn't say anything was wrong with her." There was a hint of 'don't blame my best friend' in Scott's voice.

"I didn't think anything was wrong with her either until I just got home. Cora recognized it though. Sonya's showing signs of being allergic to humans. I need your help keeping Stiles away from her until we find a cure."

"Why do you think Stiles would even want to go anywhere near you?"

Derek pinched the bridge of his nose. "Not me. Sonya, my daughter. He was fond of Sonya and I know you don't like me, but please help me protect my daughter. I don't want her to die just because Stiles can't keep away from her."

There was a long stretch of silence on the other line. "Fine. I'll let Stiles know and he'll stay away from your family. I promise."

"Thank you, Scott." He pressed the end button and nodded to Cora. "It's done."

"Good. Now let's hope Scott does better at wrangling his friend than he does anything else." Cora didn't like Scott one bit. "I'm going to take a shower. Try not to do anything else stupid while I'm gone."

Derek went to the crib and picked up Sonya along with her stuffed wolf. He kissed her soft head as she whimpered at him.

"I know you want your daddy, Sonya, but you're a complication he doesn't need right now. Let him go so he can live his life, okay?"

Sonya cried and Derek sat down on the couch with her. "I'm sorry, Sonya. Please don't cry." She looked up at him with her wide, yellow eyes, and Derek felt his heart break. "Are you hungry?"

Derek managed to take off his shirt before bringing Sonya to his nipple so she could nurse. She sucked furiously, her eyes still glaring up at him. Derek closed his eyes against her wordless accusations. His daughter was barely out of the womb and he was already doing wrong by her.

He put his feet up on the coffee table as he nursed Sonya. Cora came back, her hair wrapped up in a towel, along with a book.

"I suppose the world didn't end while I was in the shower."

"It was touch and go for a moment." Derek shifted Sonya to the other side so she could continue nursing. "Sonya already hates me for taking Stiles away from her." He ignored the fact that her eyes widened at his name.

"She'll live with the loss." Cora sat on the couch with him and opened her book. "Hales are good with that."

*

This time, if Derek had any errands that needed to be done, Cora left the loft instead of him. Sonya cried a lot more often and Derek didn't know how to comfort her. He knew it was because she missed Stiles on a magical level.

"Sonya, we can't see Stiles, okay? We have to let him be."

Sonya's eyes were still yellow. She refused to let it fade to her normal color. Derek rolled his neck to let her see his werewolf face and red eyes.

"Sonya, this is your Alpha." He sighed. "What if I let you near him without Stiles knowing? We'll go tonight while he's sleeping." Derek focused on the bond between them and sent her reassurances.

Sonya stopped crying just as Derek's phone began to ring. Derek changed his face back to normal as he picked it up. It wasn't a number he recognized.

"Hello?"

"Derek, it's Stiles. Don't worry, I'm not going to go anywhere near the loft. I've been researching a cure for Sonya."

"What?"

"Scott told me what happened and shit, I wish I knew before I almost killed her. Is she okay?"

"She won't stop crying, but she's fine."

"Crying? But you said she rarely cries." Derek heard a tremble in Stiles' voice. "I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault. You didn't know."

"Well, I know now and I'm going to fix it. I'm not going to let your daughter get hurt. So tell me everything about what's going on."

"Stiles, you don't have to do this. Cora and I have it under control."

There was a pause before Stiles spoke again. "It's my fault. I'm human and your daughter was around me. Please let me help."

"I'm going to put you on speaker." Derek walked over to his bed and placed Sonya down in the middle of it, making sure to surround her with pillows so she didn't roll. He pushed the speaker button on his phone and held it near Sonya. "Stiles, can you talk?"

"Yeah?"

"Sonya misses you. I think it'd help if she heard your voice."

That was all it took as Stiles used his baby voice to talk to Sonya. Sonya babbled back in response and Derek curled next to his daughter as she interacted with her other father. She was happy and Derek couldn't ask for anything more.

Stiles talked to Sonya for over an hour until Derek told him it was time for Sonya's nap. "Thank you, Stiles," he said as he carried Sonya to nurse her. She napped better after nursing. "She enjoyed your voice."

"Glad to be of service to the prettiest little lady I know." Stiles grew quieter. "Derek, I know you tried to distract me, but I'm not going to give up helping Sonya. I mean it. I know you must hate me for hurting her, but I'm going to make it up to you."

"I don't hate you." Derek couldn't. Even if Stiles didn't know it, he gave Derek the greatest gift he could possibly receive. "You didn't know and it wasn't your fault. I'm never going to blame you for that, Stiles."

"That's still not going to stop me. So far I haven't found anything, but I will. I promise. I'll call back later with any updates. Have a good nap, Sonya."

When they both hung up, Derek looked down at Sonya's sleepy expression. He sighed. "You're getting me and Stiles into a lot of trouble."

*

Derek saved Stiles' number in his phone so the next time he called, Derek knew it was him.

"Stiles?"

"I still haven't found anything, but I'm going to Deaton's tomorrow to pick his brain. I was wondering though, do you have Skype on your phone?"

"I don't think I do. Why?"

Stiles let out a sheepish laugh. "Uh, because I miss seeing your daughter and I don't want to kill her, so Skype is the best way to do that."

"Stiles-"

"Please?"

It was the pathetic tone of his voice that changed Derek's mind. "Fine. How do I get Skype?" Not that long after, Stiles' face was on his phone's screen grinning at Sonya.

"Hi, Sonya! Did you miss me? I bet you did."

"She did," Derek said quietly, not that he had to say it. Sonya was animated as she reached for Derek's phone. When she wasn't sleeping or nursing, she cried for Stiles. "I'm going to make lunch, but I'll leave the phone here with Sonya and pillows surrounding her."

"Aw, who has the best daddy in the world, Sonya? You do!"

Derek made sure Stiles saw him rolling his eyes before handing the phone to Sonya. She could barely hold it, and he bet all Stiles saw was Sonya's cheek, but the two of them seemed pretty okay with the situation. He walked into the kitchen and opened the fridge to get out the makings for a sandwich. Every so often, he looked over to his bed and saw how happy his daughter was. Derek finished making his sandwich and sat down on the bed next to Sonya.

"You're going to be a looker when you grow up, Sonya. I can tell. You're a Hale, there's no way your genetics will allow you to be ugly."

"That's not how genetics work, Stiles. Stop telling my daughter wrong information." He grabbed his phone and glared at Stiles.

Stiles laughed in response. "I don't know about that, Derek. Maybe werewolf genetics works differently than human genetics since there's a component of magic involved. And judging from the Hales I _have_ seen, Sonya doesn't have to worry. Maybe you do though as her grumpy father when boys come around."

"She's never dating, simple as that."

"Uh huh. If she was my daughter, she'd be allowed to date. Within reason. Obviously background checks and drug tests would be involved, with you sniffing out their lies, but at least she could date."

Sonya _was_ Stiles' daughter. He imagined the two of them raising her, arguing over whether or not Sonya could date. It was a comforting image of something that'd never happen.

"Hey, I need to head out to my bro date with Scott, but I'll call you later tonight." Derek raised his eyebrow and Stiles shrugged. "And by that, I mean I'm going to call your daughter because she's a better conversationalist than you."

"I always knew your thinking was at a baby's level." Derek grinned at Stiles, something sarcastic with a touch of flirt in it. Stiles stared at him with his mouth open before he shook his head.

"Okay, I'm going to go before you get any weirder. Bye Sonya. I know it's impossible, but try to keep your daddy in line."

The Skype call ended and Sonya turned her head towards Derek.

"Stiles will call back soon, I promise." He took Sonya in his arms as she kicked out at him. "You need a bath. Come on."

While he was in the bathroom, Cora returned home. She stood in the doorway of the bathroom, watching as Sonya splashed around in the sink.

"Stiles is still looking for a cure for Sonya," he said when Cora said nothing. "He called a few days ago and he Skype called today with Sonya."

Cora raised her eyebrow at him through the reflection of the mirror. "Stiles likes to find loopholes around everything, doesn't he? Why do you even let him?"

"Sonya likes him, Cora. She stops crying when he calls."

"I'm not the one who set up restrictions. You did." She placed her hand on his shoulder. "If you want to tell him the truth, you can. I'll support you."

Derek shook his head. "I can't. He has one more year of high school and then he's off to college. I'm not going to ruin that for him."

Cora handed him a towel and he used it to lift Sonya out of the water and dry her.

"He doesn't know he has a daughter, but you know as well as I do that he's not going to give up so easily on her. And when he finds out about our little sham, he's going to be pissed at you."

"I'll deal with that when the time comes. Until then, Stiles can talk to Sonya over the phone."

"If you say so."

*

Stiles called often, from a little over an hour in the morning after Sonya woke up to Sonya's bed time. Derek switched his contract to unlimited minutes to accommodate Stiles' calls. Every once in awhile, Cora gave him heavy looks, but Derek ignored them. This was for both Stiles' and Sonya's benefit.

One night, while Cora was out running in the woods, Stiles called on Skype. Sonya was nursing and Derek looked at her and his phone. He clicked on the option for phone only, not video, as well as speaker.

"Stiles, this isn't really a good time," he began.

"I don't care. I was researching Sonya's condition, found nothing, but I did manage to find something interesting when I researched further into your daughter. Does Stila Bilinski ring a bell?"

Derek winced and he shifted Sonya to burp her. "Not particularly."

"Bull fucking shit, Derek! That's the name listed as Sonya's mother on her birth certificate. Why is my name on her birth certificate?"

"Unless you've been hiding something from me, your name isn't Stila Bilinski."

"So what, you knocked up some girl with a name similar to my own? What kind of sick fuck are you?"

Sonya let out a cry and Derek rubbed her back, shushing her. "Stiles, I get you're upset, but you're on speaker phone and Sonya's here."

"Shi-shoot. I'm sorry, Sonya. Derek, can you put me on video please?"

Derek pressed the button and Stiles' face appeared on his phone. His hair was wild and Stiles looked like he hadn't slept in days. Derek shifted Sonya so she faced the phone and Stiles' face lit up.

"Hey, Sonya. Ignore what I said earlier, okay? That was not meant for delicate little ears like yours. Your daddy just has a lot of explaining to do." Stiles glared in Derek's direction. "So start explaining."

It was on the tip of his tongue to lie and tell Stiles that the woman he got pregnant didn't want anything to do with Sonya, and Cora wrote in a joke name, but he didn't. He was tired of lying. "I don't have to explain anything, Stiles. Sonya is my responsibility, not yours. I'll let you talk to Sonya, but when I say stop looking deeper, I mean it. This isn't your fight."

Stiles met Derek's tired gaze. "As Scott likes to remind me, there's absolutely no reason why I should be so gaga over Sonya like I am. I know there's magic behind it, just like there is magic behind her being allergic to humans, and I'm almost ninety percent sure they're connected somehow. So no, you're wrong. This is my fight. Now let me talk to Sonya. We left off at a harrowing time in her bedtime story."

Sonya sucked on her fist as Stiles jumped into this elaborate story about werewolves and Stiles the knight. It was silly and Sonya loved every bit of it. Derek curled against her in his bed as Stiles made animated faces and used hand gestures. Derek nuzzled Sonya's cheek as she gurgled up at Stiles.

As her eyes started to droop, Stiles looked at Derek. "I'm not done with my investigation, you know. I'm going to get my answers one way or another."

"I know. Just remember this is to protect you as much as it is to protect Sonya." He ended the call before Stiles could get another word in.

*

It'd been a few days since Stiles last called and Sonya grew fussy without hearing his voice. Derek finished changing her diaper before picking her up.

"Maybe the spell wore off him, Sonya, and he doesn't feel the urge to call. It's not your fault." He rubbed her back and kissed the top of her head. "It's not his either."

The alarm signaling someone was coming went off and Derek reached out with his senses.

"Stiles?"

His door slid open and Stiles strode in looking like he wanted to thrash someone. He narrowed his eyes at Derek and closed the distance between them.

"Stiles." Derek held Sonya a little tighter.

"You are so full of shit, it's amazing how your sister and daughter can stand being around you. Put the baby down in her crib because you and I need to talk where she can't hear me yell at you."

Derek did as he was told, putting Sonya in her crib. He made sure she had her stuffed wolf to keep her company. Derek turned around and motioned for Stiles to following him to the other side of the loft.

"You wanted to talk, so talk." Derek crossed his arms over his chest.

"Actually, I wanted to yell at you." Stiles stepped closer until he was in Derek's face. "I went back to Deaton, but this time with my symptoms instead of just Sonya's. According to him, there's no such thing as a baby werewolf being allergic to humans. There _is_ , however, a reason for my situation."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. Oh. She's my daughter, isn't she? My daughter with you. I'm still a virgin, but outside magic, plus the magic of a born male werewolf and the magic of another being like a spark can produce a child. I remember that battle where we held hands while magic raged around us. I felt a spark jump between us, but I didn't know what that was or that it should have meant anything."

Derek nodded. "That's when it happened."

Stiles punched Derek's pectoral muscle, then did it again. "You asshole, why didn't you tell me? I deserved the right to know that Sonya's mine."

"No, you didn't." Derek raised his hand to stop Stiles before he could shout at him. "You didn't mean for this to happen, and you're still in high school. I wasn't going to burden you with the realization that you had a daughter with someone you hated. Just because Sonya's magic is wrapping around you as she recognizes your magic as the other half that created her, it doesn't mean you need to obey it. She's my responsibility and you can live your own life without worrying about it."

Stiles punched Derek again. "Fuck off, and no. I have a daughter. I'm going to do right by her and I don't care what you say, you're going to let me."

He turned around and walked to Sonya's crib, bending low to pick her up. Stiles inhaled deeply before kissing her forehead. "I think it's time for proper introductions. Miss Sonya Hale, I'm Stiles Stilinski, the smarter half of your fathers. I'm very happy to meet you and now that I know I'm your daddy, I'm never leaving again."

Stiles sat down on Derek's bed and cradled Sonya in his arms. He looked up at Derek as he came closer. "I've stopped lying to my dad about all the supernatural stuff, and this is so huge that I don't want to keep it from him either. I want him to know he has a granddaughter."

Derek nodded as he sat down next to Stiles. "All right. Did you want me there for that conversation?"

Stiles smiled at him. "That'd be great. He might as well get to know you as well." Sonya whimpered and Stiles focused on her. "What's the matter, Sonya? Daddy's here."

"She's probably hungry." He paused. "I'll take her."

"Why? I can feed her, too. I've done it before."

Derek stripped off his shirt and dropped it on the floor. "That's because I pumped before I went out that one time. Most of the time, she nurses straight from me."

Stiles stared at Derek's chest before he cleared his throat and handed Sonya over to him. "Right. I guess I learn something new every day. Male werewolves lactate."

Sonya latched onto his nipple and began nursing. Stiles leaned in close to watch. "That's so incredibly hot, you don't even know. Well, that explains why Cora was on your case about your diet."

Derek smiled wryly. "Yeah, that's why. If you want to feed her next time, I'll pump again."

"Thanks." He pressed his shoulder against Derek. "So I've been thinking. Despite what you think, I don't hate you. Far from it. I think you made some bad errors in judgment when it came to hiding my daughter from me, but I'll let that slide. You had my best interest at heart."

"Is there a question in there?"

"I'm getting there. I think we should date."

Derek blinked and turned to stare at Stiles. "What?"

"It makes sense! I got you pregnant without even the courtesy of dinner or a kiss. I like you and I think you like me. For the sake of Sonya and ourselves, we should at least give it a shot."

Derek winced and held up a hand before switching sides for Sonya to latch onto. "I don't think you've thought this through, Stiles." He ignored the faster thumping of his heart.

"Sure, I have. I've thought of nothing else but you and Sonya these past few days. We're going to be raising her, why not raise her together if we can? I think we'd make a good couple." Stiles cupped Derek's face as he gazed into his eyes. "Can I kiss you?"

Derek nodded and Stiles slowly leaned forward until their lips touched. It was a soft kiss and Derek felt his eyes close as he enjoyed himself. Enjoyed kissing Stiles.

Stiles finally pulled away with a happy noise. "Yeah, that was nice. I don't mind starting off slow because we haven't really talked before Sonya, and our conversations lately have been about Sonya, so we need some us time."

The image of Stiles and him raising Sonya flashed through Derek's mind. If they were careful, they could have that. _Derek_ could have that.

"We're not having sex until you're eighteen though."

Stiles grinned. "It sucks that I'm a virgin father, but I can deal with that. We have a lot to talk about and I plan to stay the night. Is that okay?"

"Yeah, that's okay." Derek nudged Stiles with his shoulder. "Get one of her burp cloths. She's almost done nursing and you can burp her."

Stiles found a burp cloth and gently took Sonya from Derek. "Hey, baby girl. Can you burp for your daddy?"

Not long later, Derek found himself lying in bed with Stiles on the other side forming a barrier around a sleeping Sonya. Derek reached out to lace his fingers together with Stiles'.

"I already told my dad before coming over here that I was spending the night elsewhere and I had a surprise for him."

"What do you think he'll say?"

"Honestly? I don't know. But it's not as bad as the time I tried to tell him about werewolves. Besides, Sonya's adorable. He won't be able to resist her charm." Stiles squeezed Derek's hand. "I think he might be more concerned about you and me, but he'll just have to figure it out like we're going to do."

Derek nodded. "I do like you. If I had to have Sonya with anyone, I'm glad it was you. She also likes you too which helps."

Stiles laughed. "Yeah well, clearly she gets her better sense of judgment from me in this relationship. We have all night. Let's talk."

And they did. Every question Derek had, Stiles answered honestly and Derek did the same when Stiles asked him questions. Stiles also made sure to kiss Derek every so often, which Derek suspected he did just because he could. It was one of the better nights Derek had ever had.

*

"Are you ready?" Stiles asked as he buckled the sling around his body.

"You're the one who wanted to tell your dad over lunch. It's a little late to be backing out now when we're in your driveway."

"I'm not backing out. I'm just asking if you're ready. You've tried to keep her a secret for so long, I just want to make sure you don't have regrets. Once we tell my dad, it's out in the open. Next stop is Scott and everyone else."

Derek met Stiles' gaze from across the car and gave him a tentative smile. "It's fine. We've discussed our future to find the less disruptive path Sonya and I can take for you, and I think your dad will be okay with it."

Stiles took Sonya out of her car seat and into the sling while Derek got the diaper bag and the portable crib. Stiles flashed Derek a reassuring smile before he opened the door to the house.

"Dad, I'm home, and I brought back a surprise for you."

The Sheriff came out from the living room and stopped short at the sight of them. "Stiles?"

"Dad, meet your magically created granddaughter." Stiles grinned. "Her name is Sonya Hale, and as you can probably guess from her last name, her other father is Derek. Uh, surprise."

The Sheriff stared at Stiles. "Let's try this again in the living room. But this time, with more coherency."

Derek and Stiles sat down on the couch while the Sheriff sat in the chair across from them. Stiles took Sonya out of her sling and held her with one arm. With the other, he reached for Derek's hand and held it as he started over again. He told his dad everything, from when Sonya was conceived, to Derek trying to hide Sonya from him because he thought it was the best for Stiles, to Stiles figuring out what was really going on and confronting Derek about it.

"Neither of us meant for it to happen, but Sonya exists and I'm a dad along with Derek. I'm not going to give her up either, as Derek already learned."

The Sheriff eyed their hand holding. "And that?"

"Oh, yeah. Last night, Derek and I decided to try out dating. We already skipped a bunch of steps and became parents, so we're going back to retrace them."

The Sheriff raised his eyebrow. "My underage son is dating the much older man he impregnated and you expect me to be okay with this?"

Derek cleared his throat to shift the attention on him. "Stiles told me last night we're taking things slow, and I agreed with him. If we last long enough, and I hope we do, we're not having sex until Stiles is at least eighteen. Whatever college Stiles agrees on, Sonya and I are moving with him so he can stay with us, free of rent and food costs. I hid Sonya from Stiles because I didn't want to ruin his life. Now that he knows, that's still my main concern."

The Sheriff palmed his face while letting out a huge sigh. "Stiles, only you could have gotten yourself into such a mess. Fine, I'm not going to protest against your relationship with Derek and I'm certainly not going to protest against...what was her name again?"

"Sonya."

He nodded. "Sonya. She's my granddaughter and that makes her family. That makes you family too, Derek. We're going to have a much larger discussion about her and your relationship with my son, but for now, let's have some lunch."

"I can make lunch," Derek said. "Stiles told me how much you enjoy burgers and I'm pretty good with a grill. We brought the makings for some patties."

The Sheriff eyed Stiles who merely smiled at him. "You're trying to butter me up with real meat, aren't you?"

"Also a pie waiting in Derek's car. Now come here and play with Sonya while Derek cooks."

Derek got up as did the Sheriff. He held out his hand towards Derek and Derek cautiously shook it. "Your daughter's adorable, Derek. Good thing she takes more after you than my son."

"Hey!"

Derek chuckled. "There's a lot of Stiles in Sonya, sir, and not just in how much of a handful she is."

"Hey! Clearly I didn't think this through with the two of you ganging up on me." Stiles kissed the top of Sonya's head. "At least my kid's on my side." She gurgled.

"My kid has a kid. Give her to me. I want to hold her." The Sheriff took Sonya in his arms and smiled at her. "Hi Sonya. It's your grandpa."

Derek went into the kitchen to begin making patties. A little while later, Stiles came in and rested his chin on Derek's shoulder, wrapping his arms around Derek's waist.

"How's the burgers going?"

"Just about ready to go on the grill." Derek turned his head to kiss Stiles' cheek. "How's your dad taking to Sonya?"

"He loves her. I think he might try to kidnap her. What do you say about staying the night? I think I can get my dad to say yes to you sleeping in my bed."

Derek chuckled as he stacked the patties on a plate. "That's fine. I'll call Cora and let her know so she doesn't worry."

"Oh yeah, your sister. When we move for college, is she coming with us? Because she's grumpier than you."

"Probably, but just think about her babysitting Sonya while we go out."

Stiles kissed Derek's neck before stepping back. "All right, I'm convinced. All pack members aboard the Hale ship."

Derek washed his hands before picking up the plate. "If you want me to be your Alpha and join my pack, I'll say yes. Now come help me grill."

"Wait." Stiles grabbed Derek's arm. "I wanted to thank you."

Derek turned around to look at him. "You're welcome. For what?"

"For Sonya, for giving me a shot when you didn't have to, for just everything. You're willing to move yourself, our daughter, and your sister to wherever I go to college, just because it's easier for me." He kissed Derek. "Fatherhood changed you for the better, I think."

"So glad you approve." He meant it. "Thanks for letting me try with you."

"Are you kidding? I get to date a hot guy I had a kid with and she thinks the world of me. It doesn't get much better than that." Stiles took the plate from Derek's hands. "Let's go fire up the grill before dad starts complaining."

Derek followed Stiles to the backyard, but not before glancing into the living room where the Sheriff was lifting Sonya up and blowing raspberries on her belly. She laughed and squirmed as he did it again. He looked outside where Stiles was getting the grill going. Stiles looked back and winked at him before blowing him a kiss.

He never thought he'd have the chance for it again, but his life was good.


End file.
